UM deaconess responds to Philippine extrajudicial killing crisis
Deaconess Norma Dollaga recently put her faith in action by writing an op-ed published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the Philippines' leading newspapers.
News outlets and human rights groups have reported police in the Philippines have engaged in a campaign to murder suspected criminals.
These extrajudicial killings have seen a marked increase since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office June 30, 2016. Following the death of 32 people in a raid in August, Duterte said, “If we could kill 32 every day, then maybe we could reduce what ails this country.”
Norma Dollaga, a United Methodist deaconess and former chairperson of her annual conference’s Board of Church and Society, responded to these atrocities in an op-ed published by The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“Killings and more killings of the poor will not solve our nation’s drug problem,” Dollaga wrote in the article. “They will not remove drug lords from the streets. The extrajudicial and drug-related killings, and human rights violations only succeed in further inflicting and even multiplying the suffering of the poor creating an even bigger mess.”
Dollaga is the general secretary of Kasimbayan, a faith-based social justice organization. The Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, general secretary of Church and Society, called Dollaga a tireless advocate for justice and peace.
Visit The Philippine Daily Inquirer to read her entire article.
